Lack of Correlation between Mucosal Immunoglobulin A-positive Plasma Cell Numbers and TLR5 Genotypes in German Shepherd Dogs with Idiopathic Chronic Enteropathy

Publication date: Available online 27 February 2015 Source:Journal of Comparative Pathology Author(s): A. Lee , A. Kathrani , S.L. Priestnall , K. Smith , D. Werling , K. Allenspach It has been suggested previously that a deficiency in mucosal immunoglobulin (Ig) A production could be involved in the pathogenesis of chronic enteropathy in German shepherd dogs (GSDs). Recent research has shown that single nucleotide polymorphisms in the gene encoding Toll-like receptor (TLR)-5 are associated with an increased risk of development of chronic idiopathic enteropathy in this breed. IgA is essential for mucosal immunity and studies in mice have linked the interaction of TLR5 with its ligand flagellin to class switching of B cells into IgA-producing plasma cells. We hypothesized that dogs carrying the risk-associated (RA) genotypes for G22A and C100T genes of TLR5 would have a different number of IgA plasma cells in the duodenal and colonic mucosa compared with dogs carrying the risk-protective (RP) genotypes. Thirty-one GSDs were diagnosed with idiopathic chronic enteropathy by clinical exclusion diagnosis and histopathological confirmation. Immunohistochemistry was performed using goat anti-dog IgA primary antibody. Two sections of duodenum, and colon if available, were examined from each animal. Twelve images were captured from each section and IgA-positive cells were counted and expressed per 10,000 μm2. TLR5 genotypes for the G22A and C100T genes were determined by p...

Source: Journal of Comparative Pathology - March 3, 2015 Category: Pathology Source Type: research